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MUHAMMAD ALI'S LONGTIME MANAGER DIES: Jabir Herbert Muhammad passed away following heart surgery.
*Jabir Herbert Muhammad, who served as boxer Muhammad Ali's manager for most of his professional career, died on Monday following heart surgery in Chicago, his son told the Associated Press. He was 79.
Ali's manager was the son of Elijah Muhammad, the former leader of the Nation of Islam. Some reports say it was Elijah Muhammad, born Elijah Poole, who renamed the fighter born Cassius Clay.
Herbert Muhammad signed on to become Ali's manager in 1966 when the fighter's contract with a consortium of Louisville, Ky., businessmen expired, but he had unofficially controlled Ali's career well before that date.
He went on to promote several million-dollar purses for Ali's bouts and stayed on as a spiritual adviser well after the former heavyweight champion's last bout in 1981. The business relationship started to sour by the 1990s as Ali and his fourth wife, Lonnie, began to assert more direct control over his affairs. Ali and Herbert Muhammad were on opposite sides in a number of lawsuits, including over the "Ali" biopic released in 2001 starring Will Smith.
Herbert Muhammad is survived by his wife, 14 children and several grandchildren.
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